USA > Pennsylvania > Bucks County > The history of Bucks County, Pennsylvania : from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time > Part 79
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842
HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
The tavern kept by Levi L. Jacoby, at Sellersville, is one of the oldest inns in that section of the county. The landlord for many years was Samuel Sellers, 3 and it was known as Sellers' tavern, which name the post-office bore until recently. Being on the Old Bethlehem road, one of the great highways between the Lehigh and Philadelphia, it was a point of importance when that road was a thoroughfare for passengers and goods, and long retained it. The troops sent to quell John Fries's rebellion, rendezvoused there. The tavern at Warminster was popular in its day, and the resort of sport- . ing men half a century ago, when it was kept by Thomas Beans, a great horseman. When an inn was first licensed there we do not know, but as early as 1758, it was called Dilworth's tavern. Beans caused a half-mile track to be laid out on the Street road below the York road, where races came off several times a year. He had a track on his farm, but this was closed by order of the court, when he resorted to the road. The races drew a large crowd of men and boys, and were very demoralizing in their influence. Occasionally serious accidents happened, and one or two men were killed. At Mr. Beans's death the practice fell into disuse, and the racing fra- ternity transferred their headquarters to some other locality. Mr. Beans kept this tavern as early as 1800. At this date there were seventy-eight licensed houses in the county. We have not been able to collect much information as to the amount of revenue tavern licenses yielded to the county in the past. By accident we fell upon the receipts for 1799 and 1800; for the former year they amounted to $341.75 from forty-three licensed houses, and for the latter year, $443.67 paid by fifty-one taverns.
3 He kept it in 1800.
843
HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
CHAPTER LIV.
VOLUNTEERS; BIBLE SOCIETY; AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES; VISIT OF LAFAYETTE; POISONING OF DOCTOR CHAPMAN.
Martial spirit in Bucks .- Troops in French war .- Militia organization .- First vol- unteer company .- Washington met at Trenton .- Companies organized .- War of 1812 .- Troops march to camp .- Captain Purdy's company .- Captain Magill's. -Camps Dupont and Marcus Hook .- Colonel Humphrey's .- Bucks county in civil war .- Volunteers' encampment .- Bucks county Bible society .- Agricul- tural societies .- Mowers and reapers .- Beek's exhibition .- Visit of Lafayette .- Poisoning of Doctor Chapman .- Mina.
A MARTIAL spirit prevailed in Bucks county, notwithstanding the prevailing sentiment of the Friends was against it and, whenever the occasion required, her citizens turned out to defend the frontiers from the Indians.1 In 1755 her volunteers were the first to go to the rescue of Bethlehem and the neighboring settlements. The first company to march was Captain Wilson's, sixty strong, the last of No- vember, and in December Captains Asten and Wayne followed him. The 17th of January, 1756, Franklin, then colonel of a regiment, ordered Captain Jacob Arndt,2 from "Rockland in Bucks," probably Richland, to the frontier near Bethlehem. In the French and In-
I The first attempt to form a militia in this state was in June, 1702, in the absence of William Penn, when a company was organized in Philadelphia, commanded by George Lowther, on the occasion of war with France.
2 Captain Arndt was a popular and energetic officer in the Indian wars, and a mem- ber of the supreme executive council during the Revolution. He died at Easton in 1805, whither he had removed.
844
· HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
dian war nine associated companies, numbering five hundred and thirteen men, were organized in Bucks county, some of which were called into service on the frontiers. They were officered as fol- lows:
1.
Alexander Graydon, captain. Matthias Keen, lieutenant. John Priestly, ensign. Privates, fifty.
2.
Henry Kræsen, captain. Josiah Vansant, lieutenant. Andrew VanBuskirk, ensign. Privates, fifty.
3. Jacob Arndt, captain. Anthony Miller, lieutenant. Nicholas Conrad, ensign. Privates, thirty-three. 4.
William Ramsey, captain. John Johnson, lieutenant. John Adams, ensign. Privates, fifty-six.
5. Henry Lott, captain. Garrett Wynkoop, lieutenant. Lifford Laffordson, ensign. Privates, seventy-four. 6. Joseph Inslee, captain. John Zubers, lieutenant. Joseph Inslee, jr., ensign. Privates, sixty-two. 7. Anthony Teate, Captain. Robert Cummings, lieutenant. James Cummings, ensign. Privates, forty. 8. Jonathan Palmer, captain. Luther Calvin, lieutenant. Thompson Price, ensign. Privates, one hundred and eight. 9. Charles Stewart, captain. Privates, forty.
In November, 1763, several companies of mounted men from Bucks county arrived at the Crown inn, now South Bethlehem, to protect the frontiers from Indians. We have already written the honorable record of Bucks county in the Revolution, which she maintained in subsequent wars.
When the commonwealth was established her arms-bearing sons were organized into at least four militia regiments, which in 1800 were commanded by Colonels, Joseph Hart, Hanna, Irwin, and Smith. Augustin Willett, grandfather of the late Charles Willett, of Bensalem, was appointed brigade-inspector soon after 1790, at a salary of one hundred and sixty dollars, and in 1800 was commis- sioned brigadier-general. William Rodman was appointed by Gov- ernor McKean, inspector of Willett's brigade in 1802. In the whiskey insurrection of 1791 Bucks county furnished her quota of militia, among which was a regiment commanded by Colonel Joseph Hart. When Washington returned south from New York, in the fall of 1797, he was received by the military of Bucks county on cross-
845
HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
ing the river at Trenton, and escorted to the Philadelphia county line. General Macpherson wrote to Brigade-inspector Willett, that " it is the governor's wish that the President of the United States should be received with military honors on his crossing the Delaware into Pennsylvania, by Captain Clunn's company of artillery, and Captain Gibbs' troop of horse, under a grand discharge of can- non. The troop of horse then to escort him to the line of the county of Philadelphia, where they will be received by another troop be- longing to that county."
The first mention of a volunteer company in Bucks county, was in 1788. On the 4th of July of that year a grand celebration, in honor of the adoption of the federal constitution, took place in Philadelphia, and among the military which participated were "the Montgomery and Bucks county troops of dragoons." If the com- panies of Captains Clunn and Gibbs, mentioned above, were volun- teer companies, they were the next oldest. In 1801 William Rod- man commanded the "First troop of light dragoons of the Bucks county brigade," of thirty rank and file. In 1806 Bucks county had four organized regiments of militia, the Fifteenth, Thirty-first, Thirty-second and Forty-eighth, commanded by Colonels, John Smith, George Piper, Joseph Clunn, and Harman Vansant, with John McCarter, brigade-inspector, and Samuel Smith, brigadier- general. The firing of the British frigate, Leopard, on the Chesa- peake, in 1807, caused an outburst of patriotism among the Bucks county militia, and steps were taken to form volunteer companies. Captain Joseph Clunn invites the patriotic citizens of Bristol, between the ages of forty-five and seventy years, to enroll themselves as a reserve guard, to be called the " Republican Greys of Bucks county," whose services were to be offered to the President. Clunn state that he is sixty-three years old, and had "devoted nearly half that time in a military capacity." A meeting to form an infantry com- pany was held at Vanhorne's tavern, now Centreville, Buckingham, August 1st, and at Humphrey's mill, New Britain, the 8th, and at Doylestown, the 22d, to form artillery companies. The latter day a meeting was held at Leedom's tavern, now Richborough, in North- ampton township, of which Enoch Addis was chairman, and John Lefferts, secretary, to raise a volunteer troop of horse. John Lef- ferts, John Thompson, Ephraim Addis, and William Watts were appointed a committee to prepare an address to the soldiers of the Forty-eighth militia regiment, to stimulate them to immediate action.
846
HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
An adjourned meeting was held at the Cross Roads, now Hartsville, on the 29th instant. Philip Miller commanded a company of light artillery, probably in Plumstead. A draft was made on Pennsyl- vania, in December, 1807, the quota of Bucks county being thirty- two artillery, sixty-three cavalry, and five hundred and thirty-nine infantry. The artillery company of Captain Joseph Stewart, fur- nished the artillerymen, the companies of light dragoons of Captains Benjamin Walton and Samuel Sellers the cavalry, and the flank companies of the four Bucks county militia regiments were detailed as part of the infantry, the remainder being drafted from the first and second classes of the militia. The troops were formed into a regiment, and Brigade-inspector Shaw assigned Lieutenant-colonel John Kinsey, of the Thirty-second regiment, to command it.
The war of 1812, with Great Britain, stimulated the military ardor of the citizens of Bucks county, while the near approach of the enemy to Philadelphia gave their patriotism definite shape. The first effort to raise troops in the county was made at Newtown, where a meeting was held, at Charles Hinkle's tavern, Saturday, August 7th, 1813, to form a volunteer company whose services were to be offered to the President. The 14th of July, 1814, the President called for ninety-three thousand five hundred militia, of which Pennsylvania was to furnish fourteen thousand. On the 16th a number of the citizens of Bristol, Bensalem, and Middletown met at Newportville and pledged themselves to march at a moment's warning in case the "Fourth district be invaded," and at an adjourned meeting on the 23d, the citizens were recommended to meet together for drill. The citizens of Doylestown and vicinity agreed to associate for the purpose of acquiring some knowledge of the "art of war," and met to drill in front of the court-house three times a week. Harman Vansant, then brigade-inspector, notified the enrolled in- habitants of the county to form themselves into three regiments, and select field-officers. The upper regiment was composed of the enrolled inhabitants of Milford, Richland, Rockhill, Hilltown, Spring- field, Durham, Nockamixon, Haycock, and Bedminster; middle regiment-Tinicum, Plumstead, Solebury, Buckingham, New Bri- tain, Warwick, Warminster, Warrington, and Wrightstown ; and the lower regiment, North and Southampton, Middletown, New- town, Upper Makefield, Falls, Lower Makefield, Bensalem, and Bristol township and borough. These regiments elected the fol- lowing field-officers : Upper regiment-colonel, Jacob Kintner,
847
HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
lieutenant-colonel, Christian Bloom, majors, John Buck and John Stoneback. Centre-colonel, William Long, lieutenant-colonel, Samuel Abernethy, majors, Samuel D. Ingham and Edward Yerkes. Lower-colonel, Louis Bache, lieutenant-colonel, John S. Benezet, majors, Orren C. Starr and Anthony Torbert. The militia of this county were known as the First brigade, second division, of which Samuel Smith was appointed brigadier-general, William C. Rogers, 3 aid-de-camp, and Elisha Wilkinson, quartermaster. Josiah Y. Shaw, of Doylestown, was appointed aid-de-camp to Major-general Scheetz, division-commander. The quota from this county, consist- ing of eighty-eight artillery and eight hundred and fourteen infantry and riflemen, to be taken from the first and second classes of the enrolled militia, was called for the 12th of August. They were taken from the four old militia regiments, and consolidated into a battalion, of which Andrew Gilkyson was appointed lieutenant- colonel, and John S. Benezet and Isaac Griffith majors. The drafted militia assembled at Thomas Beans's tavern, Warminster, Sunday, the 18th of September, to march to Marcus Hook. General Smith and his staff were there. A large concourse of people came together to see them off. The troops were formed in hollow square, when the Reverend Thomas B. Montanye delivered to them an ap- propriate address. They marched to Philadelphia, and thence to their destination in steamboats. The drafted militia were encamped in the court-house yard, Doylestown, a day or two.
Information of the burning of Washington reached Bucks county on Saturday, the 26th of August, two days afterward. Court met at Doylestown the following Monday, Bird Wilson being the presi- dent-judge, and the late Samuel Hart one of the associates. After court had called, the late John Fox, then a young man and deputy- attorney-general, arose and stated that the capital of the country was in possession of the enemy, and Baltimore and Philadelphia threat- ened by them, that he thought the people had other and higher duties to discharge than to be holding court at such a critical time, and he Inoved an adjournment. The court refused to adjourn, when Mr. Fox took his hat and made a low bow, saying the country required his services elsewhere. He went out of the court-house, followed by Judge Hart and nearly all the people, whom he addressed in a spirited speech. Mr. Fox returned to Newtown, his place of resi- dence, where he called a meeting to raise a volunteer company.
3 Father of the late William T. Rogers.
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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
About this time he was elected second-lieutenant of Captain Chris- topher Vanartsdalen's company of militia, of the regiment com- manded by Colonel Louis Bache. He was afterward appoin quartermaster, and served a three months' tour in the field.
The patriotic action of Mr. Fox stimulated the military fer- vor. On Thursday, the 30th of August, a number of the citizens of the neighboring townships, among whom was Samuel Hart, associate-judge of the courts, met at Hartsville to organize a volun- teer company. Before night the complement of men was obtained, the officers elected, and the company named the "Bucks county riflemen." The following Saturday, September 1st, the company met to drill on John Shelmire's farm,4 on the road that leads across from Johnsville to Bristol road in Warminster township. Toward evening, the brigade-inspector, Harman Vansant, came upon the ground, completed the organization, and announced the governor's orders to march the following Monday morning. Of this company, William Purdys was elected captain, Samuel Daniels, first-lieuten- ant, James Horner, second-lieutenant, and John Davis,6 ensign.
On Monday morning, September 3d, Captain Purdy's riflemen and Captain Vanartsdalen's company of militia from Newtown, met at what was then Foster's corner, but now Southamptonville, on the Middle road. There was a large concourse of relatives and friends present to see them off for the seat of war. They assembled in a wood at the north-east corner of the cross-roads, where Mr. Mon- tayne preached a discourse from Matthew, fifteenth chapter, thirteenth verse. This patriotic pastor was appointed chaplain to General Samuel Smith's brigade. The neighborhood furnished wagons to carry the two companies to Philadelphia, and when the starting mno- ment arrived there were "sudden partings,"
"Such as pressed the life from out young hearts, And choking sighs that ne'er may be repeated."
The two companies were conveyed to Frankford, whence they marched into the city, and out to Bush hill, where quarters had been provided them. As they were the first to arrive, their passage through the city was an ovation ; house-tops and windows were crowded; the ladies waved their handkerchiefs, and men cheered
4 Near what used to be " Hart's school-house,"
5 Grandfather of the late Sheriff Purdy.
6 Father of the author.
849
HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
the patriotic volunteers. The uniforms for Captain Purdy's com- pany were made in the Masonic hall by seventy young ladies. This company joined the regiment of volunteer riflemen, commanded by Colonel Thomas H. Humphrey, of Montgomery county, while that of Captain Vanartsdalen repaired to the militia camp at Marcus Hook.
William Magill, of Doylestown, recruited a company of riflemen at that place, in the early days of September, which he called " The Bucks county rangers." The other officers were, William Hart, 7 first-lieutenant, a Mr. Hare, second-lieutenant, and John Edgar, ensign. The company marched from Doylestown on Wednesday, the 21st, sixty-six strong, in full uniform. The ladies of the vicinity met in the court-house the day before to finish and lace the clothing of the men. Before their departure the company marched to the court-house, in double-file, separating to the right and left as they entered, where, in the presence of a numerous audience, the Rev- erend Uriah DuBois made them a patriotic address. At Hatbo- rough fifty-two men were enrolled by Alexander McClean, who was elected captain, Thomas Boileau, first-lieutenant, a Mr. Davis, second-lieutenant, and John W. Stackhouse, ensign. These four companies, including that of Captain Vanartsdalen, and numbering two hundred and forty-five men, were enrolled in about one week within a radius of six miles from Hartsville, which shows the patri- otic spirit of the day. Colonel Humphrey's regiment was mustered out of service December 12th, 1814, and returned home.s The news from the seat of war came into the county slowly, either by the Easton stage, which ran through Doylestown daily, going and returning from Philadelphia, and the "Swiftsure" line that traveled the Old York road. When any news of importance reached Doyles- town on Sunday, Asher Miner announced it in a handbill. The surrender of General Hull and the capture of Washington caused much consternation among the people. Bucks county saw nothing of the war but the marshaling of her sons to repel invasion, if we except twenty-five British officers, prisoners of war, who passed through Doylestown, en route from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Phila- delphia, March 14th, 1814. The 4th of July, 1815, a few months after the conclusion of peace, was celebrated at Doylestown by a pro- cession, headed by the Bucks county rangers, Captain Magill, which
7 A young member of the bar.
8 The troops voted in camp at the October election.
54
850
HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
proceeded to the court-house, where there was a prayer by the Rev- erend Mr. DuBois, reading of the Declaration by Asher Miner, and an oration by Samuel D. Ingham. These services were followed by a colation in a grove near by, and one hundred ladies were provided with refreshments in the grand-jury room. The festivities were concluded by a concert in the court-house in the evening.
The effect of the war of 1812-14 was to raise the price of all arti- cles. Sugar was sold at thirty-three and coffee at forty certs, while cotton and woolen goods went up to almost fabulous prices. Many expedients were resorted to, to avoid the high prices. Rye came into general use for coffee, and sugar was dispensed with. The suspen- sion of the banks flooded the country with paper money of all denominations, issued by corporations and individuals. Prices kept up until 1816, when wheat reached three dollars a bushel, corn one dollar and a quarter, and oats seventy-five cents. The reaction that followed put land down one-half, wheat sold for seventy-five, corn thirty, and cats twenty-five cents per bushel, and many farmers were ruined.9
The martial spirit of the young men of Bucks county was greatly stimulated by the war with Great Britain, and a number of volunteer companies was organized in the next six years under the new militia act of 1814. By 1822 there were nineteen companies in the county.10 The greater part of them were riflemen, a popular arm in the war just closed. The first formation in battalions took place October 13th, 1821, when the companies of Captains Rogers, Evans, and Vanhorne organized into a battalion, with Matthias Morris for major, Lewis S. Coryell, adjutant, and James Darrah, quartermaster. The 30th of August, same year, the officers of the Bucks county rangers, War- wick rangers, Alert riflemen, Perkasie foresters, and Rifle blues met at Doylestown to organize a battalion, and other companies were requested to meet them at Lukens' tavern, Warrington, the second Saturday of October. In November several officers met at Doyles- town to organize a "military society," for the purpose of improving
9 The direct war-tax of Bucks county was sixteen hundred dollars.
10 They were the companies of Jacob Buck, jr., Joseph Himelwright, troop of cav- alry, George Short, Rifle rangers, John Fries, Rifle blues, James Horner, Warwick riflemen, Jacob Kooker, Andrew Apple, Joseph Hare, William T. Rogers, Bucks county rangers, Joel Evans, Perkasie foresters, Cornelius Vanhorne, New Hope rangers, Thomas Craven, John Davis, Alert riflemen, Evan Groom, Andrew Murphy. John Murfit, Alert light infantry blues, William Magill, Independent artillerists, John Robbarts, Doylestown cavalry.
851
-HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
in "military tactics." Colonel Thomas Humphrey was elected ma- jor-general of the division, composed of the counties of Bucks and Montgomery. In September, 1821, the Alert light-horse company was organized at Addisville, and the Jackson guards, of New Britain, in 1823. The 12th of January, 1822, Captain Himelwright's cavalry, Short's rifle rangers, and Fries's rifle blues met at Jacob Baker's tavern in Rockhill to take steps to form a battalion, but it is not known what came of it. In January, 1823, Stephen Brock was elected major of a battalion composed of three companies. Mahlon Dungan was elected brigadier-general of the brigade in January, 1824. The same year Thomas Sellers commanded a company of cavalry in Rockhill, known as the Bucks county troop.
These movements gave rise to the volunteer organizations in the county which were kept together, with eclat and spirit, for about thirty years. The various companies became consolidated into two regiments, the First and Second Bucks county volunteers, and two or three battalions. The former was a fine body of troops, and in its prime was the pride of the lower end of the county. Among its commanders were John Davis, Simpson Torbert, and Thomas Purdy. The first battalion of the First regiment was probably organized in the fall of 1822, and on the 3d of February, 1823, John Davis was elected and commissioned lieutenant-colonel. When the second bat- talion was formed, by the spring of 1826, he was elected colonel, and held the commission until elected brigade-inspector in 1828. One of the finest volunteer parades of the day was made at Morrisville, September 29th, 1827, consisting of the First regiment of Bucks county volunteers, a regiment from New Jersey under General Wall, a regiment from Philadelphia, and several troops of horse. After a drill they sat down to a dinner of five hundred covers, and in the afternoon marched through Trenton. Among the commanders of the Second regiment was the venerable Isaiah James, of New Britain. The Centre Union battalion, commanded by Major Charles H. Mathews, was a popular body in its day. All these organizations had full ranks for several years. The Doylestown grays was an in- dependent company, but frequently paraded with Major Mathews's battalion. Henry Chapman was captain of the grays for two or three years. The name was subsequently changed to Doylestown guards, and uniformed as artillery. The company offered its ser- vices in the Mexican war, but was not accepted. It served three months in the war of the rebellion under Captain W. W. H. Davis,
852
HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.
but the men were almost entirely new enlistments. One of the finest volunteer companies in the county was the Union troop, a handsomely uniformed and equipped body of cavalry, which was commanded several years by Joseph Archambault, an ex-officer of the great Napoleon's military household. The troop did good ser- vice in the Philadelphia riots in 1844. In 1837 and 1838 large military encampments were held in the county, the former year on the Middle road in Northampton township, a mile above Addisville, and the latter in Southampton, half a mile from the Buck tavern. The troops went into camp on both occasions in August, and were subjected to strict military discipline. In August, 1843, a third en- campment, called camp Jackson, was held just south-west of Doyles- town, consisting of about seven hundred troops of this and adjoining counties. Among them were the cadets from Captain Partridge's military school, near Bristol. The commander of these camps was John Davis, major-general of the division. A number of companies from abroad participated. During the palmiest days of our Bucks county volunteers the officers most active in keeping up the organi- zations were John Davis, colonel, brigade-inspector, and major-gen- eral, William T. Rogers, brigade inspector and major-general, Joseph Morrison, Isaiah James and Joseph Mann, colonels, Charles H. Mathews, major, and Paul Applebach the last major-general of the division from this county, and others whose names do not now occur to us. The annual spring and fall parades were attended by large crowds, and citizens felt a pride in the volunteers. From some cause or other the military spirit has died out, and now there is not a vol- unteer company in the county.
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